number two is finished and out

Functionally ill #2 is the latest installment in my examination of mental illness from within and without. A long essay "problems with mental illness" discusses the construction of mental illness, stigma, and the words we use to talk about it. There's a detailed description of my trip to the psychiatrist: our fears beforehand, the questions he asked (including, "Who's the president of the United States?"), the prescription of medication, and conflict. Shorter pieces discuss my feelings and choices about medication, a helpful support group Erik and I attended and what happened there, more about what mania is like and how it can make me super-productive or delirious, and the first bi-polar person I ever knew, who threatened to kill my friend Jenny. A poem about suicide graces the back cover. I'll paste its ending.

Not killing myself
exhausts me.
It’s like a swim that never ends,
a long push through
pain to the place where
you’re allowed to die of natural causes.

Free or trade, 20 pages, digest sized, text heavy.

If you would like a copy, please email me at robotmad at gmail dot com, explaining in a sentence or two why you're interested, with your complete mailing address.

#2

Functionally ill #2 should be done within two weeks. Last night Erik read a draft, and we like it. It looks like the new issue will be 20 pages again, just as text heavy. There's a long essay "problems with mental health" which is abstract and has a large scope. There's an account of the first bi-polar person I ever knew, who threatened to kill my friend Jenny at UCSB. There's a long account of seeing the psychiatrist and getting diagnosed by him. I talk more about how mania feels, a support group I attended, and there's something about medication.

As always, it will be available by trade and free by request.

zine wiki listing

Why oh why won't zine wiki respect my lack of capitalization. (I'll show them! I won't capitalize zine wiki ever again.)

http://zinewiki.com/index.php?title=Functionally_Ill

Note that "Becoming Bipolar" should be "becoming bipolar" etc.